Now that the discussion is including those who have severe anxiety, which is not resolved by a lot of presenting, various performance enhancement techniques and so forth, these are my clients. In addition to the many techniques we have collectively created, learned, encountered, it is necessary to get to the part of the brain which drives primitive reactions whose purpose is to protect us from threats to our physical safety. We all know about “fight/flight” and maybe as well about “freeze and appease.” Those reactions occur in the limbic system – a part of our brain which is geared to react and act, not think – and will not integrate information coming from our thinking brain, the cortex. Its power to help humans survive also turns off the cortex so thinking won’t interfere with survival, which is why so many people report not being able to think or remember what they are supposed to say. This reaction in a region below the cortex is why so many sufferers have tried so many “higher brain” solutions that never work. At some point in time, fear of public speaking took its place on the list of life threatening forces, usually in childhood or adolescence, when it doesn’t take a lot to threaten, humiliate or tear down a child’s confidence and sense of safety. What needs to happen to undo this irrational connection is to discover the cause(s) earlier in life and use good trauma treatment to allow these fears, essentially, to be integrated into our higher cortex where they will no longer feel upsetting. Since 1995, I have primarily used EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) a proven well researched method that has become world famous for its success in treating the aftermath of trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorders, to diminish and cure fear of public speaking. I also use other trauma techniques including Sensorimotor Therapy and some of the energy therapies such as TFT and EFT, the last of which I find less effective with crippling fear. This process is interwoven with performance enhancement techniques and cognitive therapy methods, and can be accomplished in as little as 8 hours, but more commonly in a series of weekly sessions lasting more than 4 months. The length of time depends on the client’s characteristic way of dealing with feelings, the amount of additional trauma which may have occurred in childhood, and the willingness to give up their perfectionism, and sometimes also their need to appear unassailable to the world.

Linda, you are absolutely right. In fact my logo says “Conquer Your Fear and Advance Your Career.” As a specialty coach in helping people overcome fear of public speaking, I find that most of my clients come to me for 2 primary reasons, but not primarily because they have fear of public speaking. Either their fear has gotten worse (escalation of fears and phobias is a typical progression) or they have been promoted to a position which requires them to speak and present, while in their previous jobs, they had successfully avoided it most of the time.
Jani’s comment relates to one segment of my coaching of these clients which is so extremely relevant. They need to start thinking of presenting as communication, not recitation, and in the beginning I help them to change their presentations as much as possible to actually include interaction with audience members and some managed interactions among audience members. They inevitably feel less frightened as they begin to see that the true nature of speaking and presenting is carrying a message and coming as close as they can to communicating it in a way that is clear and relevant to their particular audience. They are contributing value, not taking a test.

I support Toastmasters enthusiastically for those whose anxiety for public speaking is not disabling panic. The clients I see are those who can’t face Toastmasters and most of them have tried. So I have an individualized program which includes the powerful fear and trauma desensitization method EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Now a recognized definitively researched method originated in 1987, EMDR has been instrumental in helping many of my clients reduce or eliminate their fear. I also find that teaching ideal performance states, mental rehearsal techniques, mental training exercises, and reframing the nature of the task (“It’s not about you; it’s about what they need.”) helps to build focus, confidence and passion for the task.

I have been following the LinkedIn Public Speaking Group for several months during their discussion of how they handle their nerves, for even public speakers can get unpleasantly nervous. A common thread has been that when they have passion and commitment to the subject matter, they are far less nervous, so for all of us, I think, it makes sense to speak and write as much as possible on subjects we really believe in.

Here’s to advancing as many careers as possible.

Nancy Cetlin, Ed.D.
Fear of Public Speaking Coach
www.nancycetlin.com

A few answers:

1. In the beginning, you just fear the situation, and avoid it if possible, but since you can’t absolutely avoid being in the spotlight sometimes, you develop fear of the fear symptoms as much as the situational reaction while you’re on the spot. and the uncontrollable nature of those symptoms becomes a new focus of anxiety.

2. The part of your brain which initiates fear reactions, called the limbic system,  underneath your thinking brain, the cortex (grey wrinkly matter), doesn’t repond to logic; in fact during fear reactions, the limbic system shuts down the thinking brain, and that’s why you pretty much can’t think.  And you can’t get through to it with logic.  So it starts a bad memory list and every subsequent fear reaction is logged on to that list, making a long history of uncontrollable fright.  And when we can’t control our lives, the fear that we are out of control escalates quickly.

3. So, now you may have a long list of associated fears which build up to bigger and bigger fear reactions.  Add to that the growing fear that you can no longer hide it from co-workers and superiors at work.  Add on the fear of complete failure, never mind your now forgotten wish to build your career, not to lose it.

So, what’s there to do about this?  Fortunately, this escalation is typical and really doesn’t interfere with recovery.  It’s a matter of being helped with the right techniques that address the origin of that fear.  It requires a commitment to yourself and to improving your life, but the benefits are plentiful.

When they come to me, they are usually hoping for some way to better manage their fear, having given up hope that their fear is cancelled out altogether. SO HERE’S A REASON TO GIVE THANKS THIS THANKSGIVING: FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING AND MANY OTHER PERFORMANCE FEARS ARE CURABLE!!

When clients complete my coaching process, the results range from an 80% to 100% drop in fear levels
“If that’s true then why don’t more people know about it” you ask. I believe that it’s because the techniques that work are not well known because they are practiced by a limited number of professionals with very specialized training.

We all know about powerful fear reactions like “fight,” “flight,” and “freeze”, right? But do we all know how they work, and how to change those reactions? NO and NO. In my continuing posts, you will learn more about how these fears are formed and how they can be substantially undone.

To learn more quickly, you can find out about these methods on my website: . Or stay tuned to my posts, and I will begin to explain the many aspects of the process which has helped many clients to be free of their fear for good.

What do a baby’s brain and public speaking have in common? The link below will take you to an article in today’s Boston Globe about how a baby’s brain is often in a “flow state.” What does this have to do with fear of public speaking? Well, almost everything, since a “flow state” also known as “the zone” is an ideal state for speaking, competing and performing. The author describes a baby’s brain as in a “lantern” state — one in which the brain can upload everything it experiences; however, a more important aspect of flow states for our purposes is what the author describes as a “complete lack of self-consciousness”.  For the anxious public speaker, this means no more self critical, negative thinking while attempting to communicate to an audience.  How in the world, you may be wondering, can one make the leap from all those anxiety symptoms to a peak performance state? Well, many of my clients have, and part of their journey from fear to flow was learning how to internally inhabit flow states.

When I begin with new clients, one of the first techniques I teach is how to inhabit a flow state in their imaginations.  I lead them through an imagery process, and give them instructions so they can recreate that experience over and over again.  It’s actually quite easy, and pleasant.  Then we begin to use these flow states in imaginary rehearsals  - “mental rehearsals” in which they see themselves functioning competently and in a flow state in some future challenging situation.  This mental rehearsal in a flow state can be used on anything from a few seconds of future performance to entire presentations – gradually building from the smaller to the larger segments.  While mental rehearsal is not new to sports and performance, imagining that this is all happening in a flow state is, as far as I know, an innovation of my own.

 http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/04/26/inside_the_baby_mind/ 

Nancy will also be offering suggestions and specific techniques that can enhance your performance not only in front of a group, but in many other workplace and real life situations.  And please feel free to post questions about her broad and effective array of coaching and psychological methods.